Comments:

I teach high school Life Skills to moderate and severely intellectually disabled kids, and we started our own little nursery to sell farmers and gardeners in our NE Colorado area plants. I called Oikos to see if we could get trees from them at wholesale because I liked what I saw in the website, and the owner was nice enough to talk with me. Even though there wasn't a wholesale pricing given, we were sent several awesome trees to try out in my own yard along with some extras. We also were given some free seed to try in our little greenhouse. I was impressed with the care and precision the plants were packed in, nothing was bent or broken and the roots intact in the tubes they came in. Just could not have been happier. Most of the time when I get plants in tubes with soil its a mess, these were primo. Anyhow, not sure what the other negatives were about on here but I sure can't say anything that would preclude buying many many more plants from them. Thank you again. Mr. Mark Shaver, Life Skills Instructor and co-operator of the Seedling Shop Life Skills Nursery

I recently placed an order for various oak trees. I placed the order on a Sunday night, and they shipped the very next day. The trees arrived healthy, and well packaged. It's mid-July with temps in the 90's, but all the root balls were still very moist.

As others have noted, the trees are small. However, all the trees were within the range of the sizes noted on the website. They were out of stock of one of the trees I ordered, but advised they would ship that tree in October - which I'm fine with.

I was very satisfied with the what I received, and I like the they offer a variety of oak trees at good prices. I'll definitely be ordering from Oikos Tree Crops again.

The pride of my garden are two plums and thirteen hazelnuts and three schisandras I ordered from Oikos last winter. They arrived on time to plant in my zone and were in perfect order on arrival. I only ordered twelve hazelnuts and whether accidentally or not, I got a baker's dozen.

I followed the included instructions and here we are on July 4th, 2015 the plants are thriving and I couldn't be happier.

I can't answer for the others complaints only to say half of the criticism I reviewed seemed just as likely to be from poor treatment from shippers not necessarily from Oikos.

I will certainly order again.

On Jul 4, 2015, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

"On Jul 6, 2015 11:21 AM, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

Thank you. Sometimes we send extras. Our shipping procedures are quite strict, yet we are not as vigilant sometimes as we should be. Hope we can help you out in the future of your edible forest."

I never had a problem with Oikos. You cannot beat their pricing and quality. The one time that a plant I wanted was out of stock they happily substituted an alternate. Oikos is a good source of unusual, hard to find species and hybrids. If you want concierge service at ten times the price there are many overpriced nurseries that will be happy to take your money. For those of us that do not want or need overpriced plants Oikos is a great resource.

They have good and rare stuff. Usually viable, though I already got some seeds which didn't germinate, but that's the exception not the rule. Overall a good service for this company. Haven't tried communication with them.

This is a long overdue hugely positive experience with Oikos...My father and I have ordered thousands of trees and saplings from a variety of Midwestern nurseries over the past twenty years, only to be generally disappointed even with "premium" choices as advertised from other nurseries...We ordered seventy oaks of several varieties from Oikos over a half decade ago...All of those oaks arrived in pristine condition and thrived despite the severe drought conditions of 2011-2013 and the brutal winter of 2014...Out of the 70 oaks planted only 4 died in the past year due to personal neglect and poor situs choice...Many of those oaks are now bearing acorns and stand over 18 feet tall, again despite being planted in Midwestern clay...I will never order from another nursery...Personal respect to the nursery owner for extreme personal service in response to emailed questions...

I placed an order for various native edibles. The prices were fair for what I received. Every plant was labeled and packaged carefully. Im looking forward to the nuts, berries, and plums ill have in a few years.

I ordered several plants from Oikos and they arrived in a timely manner and in good shape. My dog destroyed one so I ordered a replacement. I hated to place an order for just one plant so I ordered a couple more. A few days later the dog ruined another plant so I ordered a replacement and a couple of additional plants. Oikos combined the orders, a good thing, and the plants arrived again in a timely manner. All plants appear healthy and meet or exceed their stated sizes. I will be ordering from these folks again.

All I can say is Wow!!! I ordered from many online companies this year and their packaging was the best. Their plants were green and healthy and are still doing well. I'm giving a presentation on permaculture this weekend and this is the only company I am going out of my way to recommend. We will be ordering from them from now on.

It's been a few years since I ordered from them, but every tree has done well (including a white oak and paper-bark birch). The catalog continues to offer a varied selection of (mainly) native trees with good wildlife-supporting potential and there's good value if you don't mind starting with relatively young stock.

Posted on March 24, 2012, updated March 24, 2012
Posted on March 16, 2012, updated March 24, 2012
I received my 2nd order from Oikos yesterday (my first is on hold as it includes field-grown trees) and wow! Having received similar type trees and large shrubs from other vendors, all I can say is that the order from Oikos looks the best by far. There may be no fancy packaging but the plants were secure and in great shape even though one box was partially crushed in transport. Also, the prices are considerably lower than a prior vendor I tried and the soil they use is incredible. I ordered 25 Bur Oak, 25 Red Autumnberry, 2 Chinese Honeylocust, 3 Wild Honeylocust, 3 Catalpa, and 1 set of (4) Yellow Strawberry and am impressed with the quality of the plants shipped. Although several of these were listed as 3-6" seedlings, they are all consistently on the large end (6" minimum) with full, healthy root structures. Oikos has become my top "go to" nursey for trees.

On March 24th, 2012, Old_Gardener added the following:

I received my field dug trees yesterday (25 Sawtooth Oaks (6-12"), 25 Chestnutleaf Oaks (6-12"), 24 Russian Hawthorne (3-6"), 3 White Russian Mulberry (paper pots - 4 -12") and 25 each of the field grown wild leeks and wild strawberries). I could not be more pleased!!! The 6-12" oaks are actually 8-20" with the majority 12-16" tall, the Mulberry are 6-7", and the Russian Hawthorne range from 4-20" (most are 6-8" and all are very sturdy). All of the trees have well developed root systems and Oikos even sent me extras! The strawberries are quality bare root and the leek look particularly nice (6-8" tall and healthy). As I stated before, they may not have the fancy packaging but it is effective as everything arrived in great shape. The shipping costs are definitely on the lower end - about 10% for each order. I will definitely order from Oikos again and I hope that their name gets out there. Most definitely a reliable tree farm and nursery providing high quality stock at very low prices. Thank you, Oikos!! You have a customer for life.On March 24th, 2012, Old_Gardener added the following:

'Just wanted to add that 55 of the 58 trees/shrubs from the prior order have broken dormancy (leafing out) and the yellow strawberries have sent out new leaves - and all were planted just 8 days ago! I am sure that the 3 Wild Honeylocust will soon follow suit...

I placed my first order with Oikos this year, for two hazelnuts (one each of Ken's Select and Precocious) and some Manchurian violets. All arrived at a good time for planting in Vermont. All were in good condition and appear to have made the transition into the ground without trouble. (I planted them about one week ago, and all look healthy.)

Placed my first ever order with this company, which included a variety of Burr Oaks, hybrid Chestnut, Heartnuts and Buartnuts, Hickories, as well as a few tubers.

All items arrived promptly and in great condition - potted well, still dormant, and sized as described. One item could not be shipped (a variety of Jerusalem Artichoke), but I was notified ahead of time that they were out and I was refunded. I would definately do business with again.

I ordered two Morus rubra 6"-12" from them and some other things. I received the other items as ordered plus three Morus rubra, a little more than 12" tall. All the plants were with roots, in the tubes they had been growing in. They shipped on April 1, earlier than most people want but exactly what I requested. I have had similar experience ordering from them in the past, both punctual shipping and sometimes extra plants. They have an interesting mix of native and unusual plants. They provide e-mail notification when the order is received and when it is shipped. When I have had questions in the past, Ken has answered my e-mails.

Posted on December 12, 2008, updated September 26, 2010
I ordered chinquapin chestnuts, beach plums, hazelnuts, clove-scented currants, and huckleberry. I was really excited over what was for me a large order (since I usually raise my own plants from seed rather than buy plants). Everything arrived in good order. The currants had a little note attached that said they were dormant but still alive (and they did show signs of life later before going fully dormant again for the winter). I really like the company's commitment to the environment and to good food production. Their website gives tons of information about the various offerings they have (although occasionally info about whether you need a second plant for cross-pollination is absent or unclear). I do agree with one of the negative posters here that they don't always answer questions. I asked a question about the chinquapin chestnuts and got an ambiguous answer; then I emailed to ask another, unrelated question about them and never got an answer. But I figure they're busy and they may not have a lot of time to answer tons of questions, especially very specific, eccentric questions like mine. I look forward excitedly to all the fruit and nuts that I'll be getting in future years.

On September 26th, 2010, gsteinbe added the following:

I still haven't gotten any fruit or nuts from the plants I bought at Oikos Tree Crops. The chinquapin chestnuts, hazelnuts, and currants are doing well enough (though growing slowly). All but two of the beach plums have died (but I may have them in soil that's too moisture-retentive for their liking). The huckleberry died; it deteriorated over a year.

Since my first order, I've ordered from Oikos again. When my order arrived this time, several of the plants had been crammed into the box with too much packing material. Nothing was seriously damaged but one Green Gumbo Malva. It looked like it would survive, but its roots and crown were compressed. Its current top growth was all wilted by the next day. I emailed Oikos, and they promptly apologized and sent a replacement, which arrived very quickly and is already in the ground. I'm very happy with the service I've received and keep my rating at "Positive." I'm still looking forward excitedly to all the fruit and nuts (and now Malva leaves) that I'll be getting in future years. I hope I don't have much longer to wait.

Placed my order March 11. Received my order towards the beginning of April. The plants were all very well packed with plenty of cushioning to protect them from the delivery guy. Oh, and this is one of the few companies out there that *doesn't* ship bare-root. That's right, the plants come with soil - good soil - and, consequently, looked a good bit healthier and got going a lot quicker than the bare-root plants I've received from other online nurseries. Realize, though, that if you order tree stock, in most cases you are ordering *seedlings* - when they say 2"-3" they mean 2"-3"... so those little guys will probably need a 3-5 gallon pot to sit in for a few years. I ordered $77 worth of stuff and as of today, April 16, everything except my jerusalem artichokes and my Christmas wintergreen have "woken up" and put on new growth. The groundnuts are going like gangbusters. I expect the jerusalem artichokes I got will poke their heads through the dirt soon. As for the Christmas wintergreen, it looked fine when it arrived, but it's leaves have been, one by one, steadily turning brown and falling off ever since I received it. Maybe it just doesn't like the shady little flowerbed I put it in. Oh, well. Also, it would have been nice to get a confirmation email or something when my order shipped so I could have been looking for it. Bottom line, though, this was a pretty positive experience. Oikos has a lot of unique plants you can't find anywhere else and they're pretty inexpensive. If they had something I wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to order again.

This was my first order from Oikos: I ordered five plants and some sunchoke tubers. All were nicely sized, well packed, and in good shape. Oikos carries a fantastic selection of useful and native plants, so if these plants grow well for me, I look forward to ordering from them again!

On Mar 17, 2010, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

"On Mar 18, 2010 9:53 AM, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

Thank you, we are constantly on the lookout for different native plants to offer. Check out our web site for up-to-date selections http://www.oikostreecrops.com."

Communication is a little lacking when it comes to order confirmation. I recommend just calling early on a weekday to confirm for that nice fuzzy warm feeling but sure enough the order was received and shipped fast. One plant was huge, two were normal and one was smallish. One was small but the price was pretty cheap to begin with so no biggie. I would order from them again for sure. Shipping was resonable too.

On Nov 5, 2009, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

"On Dec 23, 2009 1:11 PM, OIKOS Tree Crops responded with:

Order confirmations have been a problem we are addressing on both internet site and office. This spring (2010) we plan to update some of our old ways of doing things. "

I love Oikos! I have ordered sporadically over the years from their mail order catalogue (I'm not that familiar with their website; yet), and always enjoy perusing the pages. Ken's dry wit provides a fun read, and I LEARN from his writings, especially about the many varieties of nut trees they offer. Selection on ornamentals vary from year to year, but they always have some interesting offerings.

I can report on seedlings I purchased from them going back ten years or more. I have Hazelnut-Filbert crosses that have done VERY well in our cold, Zone 4 area in the mountains of NE Pennsylvania. They produce yearly, and are very close to the size and shape the catalogue description stated. A "Sweet Idaho Burr Oak" has become a lovely ornamental centerpiece in one part of our multi-acre lawn, and I'm looking forward to Magnolia seedlings (kobus x stellata) blooming for the first time this coming spring. I had no problems with Paw Paws ordered from them, which I hear can be challenging to plant/transplant.

I will be searching for places to fit more of their trees into the landscape in the future! They provide a great service to the nut-growing community, as well as oak-tree lovers, with all of the hybrids and varieties they list.

I placed an order on Saturday last week and it was received in good order yesterday (Tuesday) of the following week. This company called me Monday morning saying that UPS could not find the address that I provided and I advised that I had been receiving UPS shipments at that address for at least 15 years. Enough for that, UPS found me and the order was well packed and dormant so they were in perfect condition. The cherry trees were as described and have already been planted. Having a small nursery of my own, I could see that they took every effort in providing the best product possible. Its good to say something positive about someone who cares about their product and their customer. I am well pleased with what I received and their effort to make sure it was shipped promptly and to the correct address.

I ordered 3 Diospyros virginiana, 1 Aesculus pavia, and 1 Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent.' They all arrived well packed, as described, and in good shape for fall planting. The company had a special going on and so I received fruits of some Diospyros along with the plants, free. Yum!

The company missed filling my order in spring 07, I contacted them wondrering why I never received it and it was then too late to ship. They apologized for their screwup and said they wouild have to ship in fall 07. I said cancel it and i would make a trip their in the fall to pick up some larger trees and maybe different varieties that Ken recommended. ken said he would keep my order for reference. In september 07 my spring order I had cancelled was shipped. I notified them I had cancelled and wasn't planning on coming down until late fall. I agreed to give the plants they shipped a try but expressed my concerns since it was above 80 degrees and the plants were very green. the company told me they would just drop the leaves and grow new leaves. I again called in Spring of 08 and told them there were no signs of buds or leaves. They said wait until Fall and see what happens. I was hesitant but decided I would give them every opportunity. none of my order ever survived but one from a Tennessee company did that was planted at a different time but in the same area. I called this fall and they said they couldn't help me because I waited so long. I explained they screwed up twice and I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The lady said to email them so I did and that was a week ago. I have heard nothing. This has got to be the worst customer service I have ever experineced. I hate to give any one bad feedback but these people simply act like they don't care!

On September 30th, 2008, outdoorsman changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:

Oikos has now contacted me and listened to my comments. They have offered to replace my order or refund which sounds very fair. I was hoping they would see I'm not trying to be difficult but simply wanted every opportunity like I had given them to have things succeed. I simply want my trees replaced and if they are, I would be glad to change my rating to a positive and gain back my initial respect for the company.On October 30th, 2008, outdoorsman changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:

The company did eventually contact me. I'm sure they are very busy in the field in the fall. They did replace my order and the trees did look dorrmant this time. I am satisfied thye kept their end of the bargain and did what they could to satisfy me. Thanks

Oikos is one of my favorite companies to deal with. They offer a product line that is unlike anything else on the internet. I have dealt with them for the last two years, most recently ordering three large persimmon trees, and everything has arrived in good shape and has grown superbly. Their customer support is top notch and you are never left wondering about the status of your order. I hate looking at their catalog because I always want to order something.

Thanks Ken for your quick same day responses regarding my order - I thought that he forgot to ship my persimmons, but I found them packed perfectly along with my chestnuts. Well packed and excellent quality with quick customer service. One of my favorite companies.

I love this place. My first order was great. I asked for some shagbark hickories and some pecans. I ordered 2 of each and b/c some were a little runty they gave me extras. I got 3 shagbarks instead of 2 and 4 pecans...and just to be nice they gave me a free lecont hican too. Great people...and you can tell they are ready to encourage anyone's green thumb. They were also very quick in their delivery. A+!

By the way I planted the trees in October 2007 so this spring will be my first idea of how they fair, but I can tell they are still alive by scratching the bark :)

This has always been a good company to deal with, one of the best as far as customer service. They carry unusual varieties of many native plants that you won't find elsewhere. Also one of the funniest catalogs around, with comments like "this plant is so tasty, I caught my 80 year old neighbor climbing the fence to get them". Also great prices, if you are willing to start with small specimens.

The one time I had a problem (dead tree) they promptly replaced it, no problem. I felt almost guilty for bringing it up in this forum as they are so determined to make sure their product will be satisfactory for their customers.

I order from Ken and Oikos regularly and am routinely thrilled with what I get. Their stock is healthy and vigorous and the selection is really interesting -- you'll get alot of information just from reading the catalogue. Plus, the prices are good, and Ken is EXTREMELY patient with my questions (I'm learning alot from him). The one time I had a problem with something -- two shrubs -- they were replaced, and they even threw in an extra one to make up for the trouble. Great, great company.

this company has been pleasant to deal with for the
last 9 years, they offer some deals and the selection
is one of the best around, even people who have
planted trees for years like oikos, giving an opportunity
to add diversity to nature. there planting aids are helpful.

I have dealt with OIKOS on several occasions and they are an absolute joy to deal with. The blueberry plants I just recently ordered were in absolutely wonderful shape (nice plants, well packed, moist, with a very nice size).

I have ordered several types of trees from them in the past and they were in nice shape and nicely packed as well.